National Rugby Championship
Beale key in Rams' Western Sydney connection
Sam Bruce
July 28, 2015
Greater Sydney Rams' Kurtley Beale strikes a pose ahead of the NRC, Sydney, Australia, July 8, 2015
Greater Sydney Rams' Kurtley Beale strikes a pose © Getty Images
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Greater Sydney Rams are hopeful Kurtley Beale can play some sort of role in the early part of the National Rugby Championship as the club attempts to connect with fans in Western Sydney.

Beale on Monday was unveiled as one of the Rams' Wallabies alongside Tatafu Polota-Nau and Rob Horne - dumped prop Benn Robinson is also in the squad - and while it is highly unlikely any of the Test trio will feature in the NRC, coach Jim Williams would love to have the 50-Test utility back involved in some capacity before he and the Wallabies head off to the Rugby World Cup.

"I would love him and Israel Folau; I would love to have those boys back," Williams told ESPN before it was revealed Folau had been allocated to Sydney Stars. "I know the opportunity won't be there for them to play, but I think if they can buy in and get a look at what we're trying to do out there that might entice them back. But it's an important area to have two guys like that back around; it would be perfect. How they're held in the community, especially out that way, really does go well with what type of people they are and what they've done with their footy careers, if there was any chance of getting them back I would certainly welcome it."

The Wallabies return to the Rams heartland on Saturday week, when they face the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium in Bledisloe I in front of what is expected to be a crowd around of around 70,000 people. The match will be the region's last look at top-level rugby until next year's Bledisloe Cup clash with NSW Waratahs having committed their long-term future to Allianz Stadium and the Australian Rugby Union opting for the same venue for England's visit in 2016.

The national body, along with the NSW Rugby Union, is currently conducting a review of rugby in Western Sydney while rumours of a potential merger between Shute Shield clubs Parramatta and Penrith - who finished second-last and last, respectively, this season - have been met with fierce opposition. That plan, coupled with the common belief that Western Sydney has been overlooked by rugby officials for too long has seen the game struggle for relevancy in a region where rugby league and football are king, and AFL is making inroads.

But the Rams see an opportunity to arrest the slide, and they want to build a permanent connection with the region so that it feels part of the wider rugby community throughout the year rather than just the week or so when the Bledisloe rolls into town.

It would be great to see Kurtley Beale (L) and Israel Folau drop in at an NRC game © Getty Images
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"It's a difficult area with league and AFL doing so well, and putting a lot of resources in; it's difficult to compete with that," Williams said. "But there are those fans out there that want to play the game and want to support the Waratahs, and want to support the team. We're trying to reconnect with them but we're trying to build on it a lot more. I think, like you said, the people are out there, and it's just a matter of building on it and building up the numbers and having a permanent connection not just when the NRC is on, not just when the club rugby is on, but be able to do that consistently throughout the whole year.

"And I think if we can do that, that will give some continuity to the fans and to the people out there that the Rams are serious and more-so the clubs as well; not just during Shute Shield season and Rams season but trying to get them involved; whether that means as support staff or coming in and watching the games. Everything like that is important to the Rams to be able to build; you talk about building the brand but also building the identity and the culture. It's only its second year in but the sooner we can do that, the sooner we can put that message out there, and hopefully we can get more people involved."

While Western Sydney has been identified as an area in need of drastic attention, the Rams' catchment also extends south to the Southern Districts club. Having played all their home games at Parramatta's Pirtek Stadium last year, the club has made a conscious decision to service the whole region in 2016 as it seeks to build its brand.

"It's important to be able to do that with the fans, to bring games down there and not keep it to one area," Williams said. "It's changed things up a little bit but I think's it's a good thing; it's trying to get the clubs involved and trying to make a good day of it, and it helps from a resources point-of-view with the clubs. So getting down to the Shire area, around Southern Districts, was important for us and to try and expand the Greater Sydney Rams. So it's important to take games out to those areas; it's a great initiative and hopefully we can get some really good support from the local communities around there."

Williams will have little more than three weeks to whip the Rams into shape ahead of their opening encounter with NSW Country on Saturday August 22. The squad is still being finalised, while the three weeks of the Shute Shield finals - which involve Eastwood and Southern Districts from the Rams' catchment - only commence this weekend.

The Rams hope an open, attacking style will take them to the NRC semi-finals © ESPNscrum
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Williams said he would keep things relatively simple from a coaching perspective, and would look to play the same type of running rugby with which Eastwood, Southern Districts and West Harbour had enjoyed success in the Shute Shield.

"I like to think that I'm pretty simple, and try and keep things uncomplicated. I think more-so trying to get a lot of clarity to the players about what I'm about and about what I think the team needs to be about; to give us an identity about how we want to play.

"The style of footy - you watch the way in which Eastwood play, which Southern Districts, West Harbour play, it's an attractive style of footy; they want to play with the ball in hand. So I don't think [attacking] is going to be a massive thing [to work on], but making sure we've got a strong defence so that we can stop teams as much as we can. I've got a good vision of what we want to do and how we want to play. It's just making sure than we can get the personnel to do that."

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